Track brake arrangement



Sept. 16, 1941. V s. E. MASON TRACK BRAKE ARRANGEMENT Filed Oct. 10, 1939 INVENTOR. 5'0? Tj/asom ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 16, 1941 TRACK BRAKE ARRANGEMENT Sam E. Mason, San Diego, Calif., assignor to Transit Research Corporation, a corporation of New York Application October 10, 1939, Serial No. 298,840

7 Claims.

This invention relates to magnetic brakes for rail vehicles and particularly to shoes therefor. The principal object of the invention is to provide a shoe of such construction as will'reducerail wear.

The runners or wear plates of a magnetic track brake are fastened to the shoe parallel to each other and in spaced relation thus leaving a gap between them. They contact a rail jointly and longitudinally, that is, parallel to the direction of travel with the result that the rail is worn by the runners in parallel surfaces separated by a ridge. This ridge becomes very pronounced at regular stops and on steep grades and is objectionable both as a matter of rail deterioration and because of the reduction of contact between the rail and the wheel. It is the principal object of this invention to eliminate the ridging of the rail and to accomplish this without additional cost or material reorganization of existing production parts.

More particularly, it is the object ,to provide runners or wear plates mounted in mutually spaced relation with the walls of the gap thus formed in parallel relation with respect to each other, but non-parallel with respect to the direction of travel, the angularity with respect to the direction of travel being proportionate to the length of the runners and the width of the gap in such manner that the entire top surface of the rail is contacted by one or the other of said runners.

Other objects and advantages will become more fully apparent as reference is had to the accompanying drawing wherein my invention is illustrated, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a track brake shoe with my invention incorporated therein,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, indicating its position in relation to the associated rail,

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a plan view, largely diagrammatic, of a pair of brake shoes strapped together.

Referring first to Fig. 3, the reference character I designates generally the core of an electro-magnet and the surrounding coils to which current is supplied by electric power lines 2 and 3 at the will of the operator of the vehicle to which the shoe is attached. Side members 4 correspond to the legs of a U-shaped magnet and are connected to the core I for energization therewith. The runners or wear members 5 are secured to side members 4 by bolts I, the heads 1a engage shoulders 6 on the side members 4, and the screwthreaded ends of which engage in screwthreaded holes 8 in the wear members 5.

For securing the side members 4 to the core I, heavy bolts 9 are employed. These bolts 9 pass through the core I and at each end are provided with nuts Ill. The bolts 9 also carry the brackets l2 for connecting the shoe to the supporting springs (not shown), which raise the shoes from the rail I3 when the coils I are not energized.

The description thus far has been of a single shoe, but it will be understood that each rail truck is equipped with a pair of such shoes, one between tandem wheels on opposite sides of the truck.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4 each shoe is positioned at a slight angle inwardly of the axis of the rails l3 in such a manner that the displacement of one end of the shoe is equal to or greater than the width of the gap between the wear surfaces, so that the top surface of the rail must be contacted by one or the other of the runners without interruption. If desired, the angle may be great enough so that the transverse sections wiped by each runner 5 will substantially overlap. Preferably the distance between the brakes at their leading edge will be as close as the gauge of the rails will permit and as great at the trailing edge as the outside to outside measurement of the ball of the rail will permit.

Fig. 4 shows the preferred method of positioning a pair of shoes. Complementary rods 14 are secured in any suitable manner to the inner side of each shoe, one adjacent the leading edge and one adjacent the trailing edge. Each rod I4 is in two parts joined together by a connection l5 of a type to permit longitudinal adjustment thereof. The shoes may be adjusted into conventional parallel relation or they may be made to converge or diverge or they may be made to slope similarly with respect to the direction of travel. The preferred adjustments are, as illustrated, wherein the leading edges converge or toe in or the reverse of this to diverge or toe out.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of two magnetic brake shoes each having wear surfaces separated by a gap, and means maintaining the wear surfaces of said shoes out of parallel with respect to their direction of travel, the extent to which said shoes are out of parallel being so proportioned to the length of the wear surfaces and the width of the gaps that each end of each wear surface laterally overlaps the remote end of another wear surface separated therefrom by a gap.

2. The combination of two magnetic brake shoes each having substantially parallel wear surfaces separated by a gap, means connecting said shoes together, said means maintaining the wear surfaces of respective shoes in converging relation with respect to their normal direction of travel during contact with a rail, the angle of convergence being such that one end of each wear surface is laterally spaced fromthe plane of its other end a distance at least equal to the width of thegaps.

3. The combination of two magnetic brakeshoes each having substantially parallel wear surfaces separated by a gap, means connecting said: shoes together, said means maintainingthewear surfaces of said shoes in diverginglrelation 'tvi'th 5. The combination of a rail, a magnetic brake shoe having parallel wear surfaces separated by a gap, and means maintaining said wear surfaces in equally diverging relation with respect to their normal direction of travel during contact with a rail, the amount of divergence from said direction of travel of the wear surfaces of each shoe being such that thew fcarcend of each wear surface is laterally spaced 'fromithe'plane of its "forward end "a distance 'e'qual'to or greater than V the width of said gap.

6. The combination of two magnetic brake shoes each having wear surfaces of lesswidth than the rail they are adapted to contact, and

respect to their normal directionof travelduring contact with a rail, the angle of divergence being such that one end of each wean surface-islaterally spaced from the plane of its other end a distanc e at least equal tothe width of the gaps; s

- a. The combination of a rail, a magnetic brake shoe having para el wear surfaces sepa- 1'ated1by1a gap,and;" earls maintaining. saidwear surf aces "in, equally converging relation with respect to theirfnoimal direction of travel;during contactlwitn a rail, theamount of convergence from said direction of travel of the wear surfaces of eachjfshoe being'such that theforwardend of each wear surface is'laterally space'difgro'm the plane of the rear and 'a distance equal [to or greate'rlthanthe width of said gap.

mansconnecting said shoes together, said means beingadjustablato Vary the angular position of P ma netic awa W s th respe tiv tive to increase or to decrease the distance ;;be-

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